While Jaws might have popularized the concept of a monster shark, some of the scariest sharks ever are found in anime and manga. While these massive carnivorous fish are, statistically, nowhere near as much of a threat to human life as popular culture would have people believe, that doesn’t stop them from being instantly terrifying. An evil shark emerging from the depths raises the stakes of any battle scene sky-high.
Naturally, the actual animals aren’t the only sharks that appear throughout the world of anime and manga. Many heroes and villains alike model themselves after sharks to show off their ruthlessness and power in battle. Either way, the shark’s cold eyes, impressive sets of teeth, and reputation as the ocean’s perfect killer make for a truly striking image.
10 Mutant Shark - Gyo
As scary as sharks are, people in the real world can at least take small comfort in the fact that they can’t follow people out of the ocean. The shark from Junji Ito’s manga Gyo and its adaptations laugh in the face of that thought. On its long, spiny legs, it stalks the streets of Okinawa looking for victims to infect. With blank eyes and noises that sound more machine than fish (GASHUNK GASHUNK), the shark moves like a massive corpse being hauled around by the mechanisms under its belly. It will hunt relentlessly, breaking down doors and walls to reach humans trying to hide. What’s worse, it doesn’t just want to eat: as a Death Stench, it mutates anything it catches, a fate worse than death.
9 Zombie Shark - Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead
Great white sharks and bloodthirsty zombies are scary enough on their own, which makes the prospect of combining them all the more horrific. For the average zombie apocalypse survivor, the solution to such a menace is simply to run. For Akira Tendo, his solution is to don a superhero costume and engage the beast in battle. In the dim lighting of the aquarium, the zombie shark looks even more intimidating. Its eyes glow eerily in the shadows and its enormous mouth is permanently open and hunting for flesh to eat. Taking a leaf from the book of Gyo’s famous shark, it chases humans around on stubby legs its zombification let it grow.
8 Clash - JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
This killer fish is one of the scariest Stand abilities in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, bar none. A clash with Clash is the only occasion where a tiny shark is even more frightening than a giant one. Its user, Squalo, wields it like a poison pill, slipping it into the drinks of his victims so it can tear them apart from the inside out. Of course, other people might notice somebody about to drink something dangerous and warn them. That’s why Squalo’s partner Tiziano uses his Stand Talking Head on anyone who might, forcing them to say that everything is all right. And if that ruse fails, Clash can always grow instantly to life-size, as Team Bucciarati finds out when it chases them through Venice’s waterways.
7 Tier Harribel - Bleach
Real-life sharks aren’t terribly protective of one another, devouring their weaker siblings in the womb and abandoning their youth after birth. Tier Harribel defies the sink-or-swim natures of both the shark and the Hollow by doing whatever she can to protect the other Hollows under her command. Don’t mistake her kindness for weakness, though: using her zanpakutou Tiburón (Spanish for “shark”), she can slice through anything in her path. One of the most intelligent Espada in Bleach, Harribel governs herself with cold logic. She doesn’t enjoy killing but will do it brutally and without hesitation if she deems it necessary. Rather than sacrificing others to strengthen herself, Harribel will always choose to sacrifice herself for those she’s taken responsibility for.
6 Sharpedo - Pokémon
The “Brutal Pokémon” is a sharklike creature that homes in on its prey like a torpedo. According to its Pokédex data from various games, its teeth grow back if they’re damaged or fall out, and it’s excellent at tracking the scent of blood, like a real shark. Very much unlike a real shark, it can also swim up to 75 miles per hour and can bite apart everything from other Pokémon to the iron hulls of ships.
All these attributes are on full display whenever a Sharpedo shows up in the anime. In the episode “Sharpedo Attack,” a whole mob of them attack the boat that Ash and their friends are traveling on and strand them in the middle of the ocean. Mega Evolving one causes it to sprout sawlike spines from its face, which it uses to cut its opponents up.
5 Shark’s Shark Deck - Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
Mako Tsunami of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters series might be the one that’s legitimately named after a kind of shark, but his deck is comprised of a variety of ocean creatures. Reginald “Shark” Kastle, as his nickname suggests, duels exclusively with the Shark series. These intimidating creatures include Depth Shark, Jawsman, and, oddly enough, Sharktopus (no relation to the goofy SyFy Channel movie trilogy).
However, the most dangerous of them all is Shark’s Numbers card, Shark Drake. It may be one of Shark’s strongest assets, but it was placed in his hands as a trap to corrupt him. Shark Drake feeds on the vengefulness and hatred in its wielder’s heart, growing strong enough to take him over. It actively desires complete possession of Shark’s body, speaking to him to convince him to give it more control.
4 Jiromaru And Saburomaru - Dororo
In one of the best anime for Naruto fans, the abandoned, resentful warrior Hyakkimaru had his body sacrificed to demons as a child by his father, Daigo. Growing up learning to live and fight with prosthetic limbs and blades, Hyakkimaru slays demon after demon with fierce determination. With each victory, he slowly but surely gains back the body stolen from him.
The shark brothers Jiromaru and Saburomaru are just two of the targets on his list. The fisherman Shiranui formed a bond with them by feeding them his right arm, but wound up having to offer them more and more live prey to keep the enormous fish satisfied. By the time Dororo and Hyakkimaru find them, they’ve reached the point of slaughtering entire villages to sate their hunger.
3 Shark Fujishiro - My Bride Is A Mermaid
One of the only things that My Bride Is A Mermaid's Shark thinks about is eating. Naturally, he fits right in with Sun’s dad and the rest of the mermaid mafia, much to the very edible Nagasumi’s horror. It’s his job to make sure that his boss’ daughter’s human fiancé stays on the straight and narrow, to the point of becoming the gym teacher at Sun and Nagasumi’s school. Shark, as one might guess, is a sentient shark. However, his shapeshifting abilities allow him to travel on land in human form, keeping a close eye on Nagasumi and Sun. He’ll turn back into a shark completely if he touches water, but when his innate hunger rears up only his head will transform: a very unsettling image.
2 Arlong - One Piece
Taking place on the high seas, many of One Piece’s best villains take the form of vicious sea creatures, especially sharks. Prominent among them is Saw-Tooth Arlong, a Fishman with the qualities of a sawshark, from blue-gray skin, to dorsal fin, to rows upon rows of sharp, replaceable teeth. His Shark Saw sword is not only his height, but shares all his piscine qualities.
Sharks may look intimidating, but they would never go looking for trouble, or for a fight they couldn’t win. Arlong gains his fearsome reputation (and an overinflated ego) by preying on those he knows are weaker than him. By the time Nami brings in Luffy to get rid of him, he’s spent eight years tormenting, extorting, and destroying villages that can’t stand against his crew.
1 Kisame Hoshigaki - Naruto
One of the strongest members of Naruto's Akatsuki is a very different type of fish man. He lives by the philosophy of, “The weak are meat, the strong eat,” and unfortunately for everyone he meets, Kisame is terrifyingly strong. Between his shark-shaped Water Style jutsu and infamous swordplay, he’s a real beast to fight. His sword, Samehada (“sharkskin”), might be even more sharklike than Kisame himself. It has a toothy, greedy mouth, and is as painfully rough to the touch as its namesake, shredding opponents and attacking anyone it deems unworthy to wield it. Most importantly, it can fuse with Kisame’s already very fishy body to transform him fully into a bipedal shark.
To create memorable and terrifying enemies, many anime rely on the primal fear of a killer shark. These monsters and villains are powerful and ravenous, boasting speed, bulk, and lots and lots of sharp teeth. Though none of them do the real-life fish's poor reputation any favors, they all make for some of the scariest scenes in any anime. The scariest sharks in anime and manga all amplify the famous animal's ferocity.
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